Hyperion airship
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, featured in the 1974 Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
film “The Island at the Top of the World.” Although the airship appears for only a relatively small portion of the overall length of the film, it plays a prominent role, both as a memorable set piece and in the film’s plot line.
The Hyperion was featured prominently in all film promotional materials.
Film plot
The plot of “The Island At The Top Of The World” revolves around a rich VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Englishman
Englishman
Englishman may refer to:*English people*Grey Partridge*Jason Englishman, Canadian rock music singer and guitarist*Jenny-Bea Englishman, real name of the Canadien singer Esthero*Erald Briscoe, reggae musician who records under the name Englishman...
’s attempt to locate his lost son in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
in 1907. Sir Anthony Ross, an imperious Englishman employs the airship Hyperion and its pilot, French aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Captain Brieux, to fly his search expedition to the last place his missing son had been reported seen: a remote region in the Arctic Sea. Joining Captain Brieux and Sir Anthony Ross is the American professor John Iversson, an expert on Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s and on the lands of the North. When the Hyperion reaches the island at the beginning of the film, it is blown by strong winds against mountains, which causes the airship to be severely damaged, with the loss of one propeller and the destruction of the tail and rudder. The airship then drifts helplessly away from the three men (Ross, Iversson and the Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
Ommiak) when they are thrown out of the gondola. Captain Brieux and his poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
are left on the airship. At the end of the film, the airship is completely destroyed when the Godi (high priest) shoots a fire arrow at the balloon, causing the burning ship to crash on the Godi, killing him.
Description
The airship Hyperion (as depicted in the film) is a semi-rigid dirigible approximately 200 feet long. The ship features a highly streamlined crimson or rose colored gas bag (envelope) and an enclosed control gondola suspended from a thin exposed service catwalk. Twin gasolineGasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
engines, positioned in the rear of the catwalk drive two propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
s that extend outward from either side of the catwalk on a metal truss. The rudders are also suspended from the rear of the catwalk. The envelope of the ship contains stabilizer fins in the rear and front and is crisscrossed by rope netting. The balloon of the airship can actually separate from the gondola and the tail fins, causing the balloon to fly freely without the need of mechanical control.
Design
The Hyperion was designed by the film’s production design team headed by Peter EllenshawPeter Ellenshaw
William "Peter" Ellenshaw was an Anglo-American matte designer and special effects creator who worked on many Disney features....
. The airship existed as several scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s built for the film. The press kit for the 1974 release of the film boasts that Goodyear
Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
blimp
Blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
pilots were consulted on the Hyperion’s design and deemed it theoretically airworthy. The airship bears a resemblance to the semi-rigid airship
Semi-rigid airship
Semi-rigid airships are airships with a partial framework. These often consist of a rigid, or occasionally, flexible, keel frame along the long axis under the aerodynamic hull envelope. The partial framework can also be located inside the hull...
s developed by Lebaudy Frères
Lebaudy Frères
Lebaudy Frères was a French sugar producer based in Moisson, France. In addition to sugar, they also made a series of semi-rigid airships in the early years of the twentieth century, some of which saw service with several European armies.-Operation:...
(such as Lebaudy Patrie
Lebaudy Patrie
The Lebaudy Patrie was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. Designed by Henri Julliot, the company's chief engineer, the Patrie was completed in November 1906 and handed over to the military the following month, thus becoming the...
and République
Lebaudy République
The Lebaudy République was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. She was a sister ship of the Patrie, the main differences between the two being in the dimensions of the gasbag and the ballonet...
). However, it must be pointed out that it is only speculation that this real airship served as inspiration, but the resemblance is striking.
Representations
The Hyperion was also originally planned to be part of a major attraction called Discovery Bay, which was planned for Disneyland in Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. Some Disneyland planning models and sketches depict a large wooden hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
with the nose of a life-size replica of the Hyperion protruding from the hangar’s open doors. The hangar was to house a ride that was described as having the park visitors enter the hangar and climb aboard the Hyperion. They would then be taken on an aerial adventure over the Arctic based on the film. The ride was planned to use real film and a moving platform to simulate the ride, at least two decades before virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
rides began to be installed in theme parks. However, the dismal box-office sales of " The Island At The Top Of The World" caused Disney to scrap the ride completely.
Although the film did very poorly at the box office, the Hyperion lives on today in some aspects of the Disney theme park. When Euro Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
was built near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, a life-size replica of the Hyperion airship was incorporated into the Videopolis Theatre and café complex in Discoveryland
Tomorrowland
- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
. The large entrance to the Hyperion Café features the front of the airship protruding from the building, whilst the back is enclosed within the café. The Hyperion's appearance was slightly updated and stylized from the actual look of the ship in the film. The design errors on Disneyland Paris'
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
Hyperion are: the disappearance of French markings, the balloon being red instead of crimson, and the gondola totally re-designed in structure. However, the essence of the original design remains true. The Hyperion built for Euro Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
was manufactured in separate countries. The gondola was built in London by Kimpton Walker Co. while the balloon was built by Koit in Germany.
Also in Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
, an image of the Hyperion appears on a mural outside the Constellations store, also found in Discoveryland, and a model of the Hyperion resides in Discovery Arcade, Main Street U.S.A. At Disney's California Adventure
Disney's California Adventure
Disney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
in Anaheim, California (which is adjacent to Disneyland) features the Hyperion Theater, named after the airship.
Other
An unrelated airship named Hyperion is featured in the novel "Skybreaker" by Kenneth OppelKenneth Oppel
Kenneth Oppel is a Canadian author. Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, he spent his childhood in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has also lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, England and Ireland....
.
Hyperion
Hyperion (publisher)
Hyperion Books is a general-interest book publishing part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1991. Hyperion publishes general-interest fiction and non-fiction books for adults under the following imprints: ABC Daytime Press, ESPN Books,...
is the name of Disney's book publishing division. This division also published the previously mentioned novel Skybreaker
Early in The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's history, their studio occupied a building at 2719 Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles.